Their sentences expire in March 2014 and it is unclear whether the tribunal will announce its ruling before then.

In February 2012, the trio stormed the altar of the country's main Orthodox cathedral in Moscow to perform a raucous protest song calling on the Virgin Mary to rid Russia of Putin.

Chikov has alleged that Pussy Riot band members were allowed to have only very limited contact with their defense lawyers, whose actions were often restricted, and they should not have been kept for more than five months in pre-trial detention.

A ruling by the tribunal in favor of Pussy Riot could mean that the three women are eligible for compensation or their verdicts are reconsidered.

Opposition activists say that the Pussy Riot trial was a political one meant as a warning to other active critics of Putin.